How to Write a Response Letter

Authors & Contributors

The objective of a response letter is to satisfy the reader with an answer or action that fulfills the request of an inquiry. The answer either informs the reader of the respondent's ability to provide information or of a willingness to act on their behalf in some other way.

Your answers should be specific and brief. If you are replying to multiple questions you might consider placing your answers in a bulleted list. Items on a list highlight the components of your response, like snapshots in a photo album.

In the body of the sample response letter, the writer states her objective by asking the reader for help in compiling information. She then outlines the scope of her needs in a bulleted list immediately following her request.